Press Release:
Cuban Dictatorship condemns youth who protested in Caimanera to long years in prison.
Contacts: John Suarez (612) 367- 6845 | Janisset Rivero (786) 208-6056
Free the Caimanera Six
Center for a Free Cuba, July 18, 2024, Washington DC. This Tuesday on July 16, information was released on the prison terms of six young adults in Caimanera, Guantánamo who participated in the local protests on May 6, 2023, stated the mother of two of the condemned, Victoria Martínez.
Daniel Alvarez González sentenced to 8 years in prison for alleged crimes of public disorder and criminal incitement; Luis Miguel Alarcón Martínez sentenced to 7 years in prison for alleged crimes of assault and public disorder; Freddy Sarquiz González sentenced to 5 years for public disorder; Rodolfo Alvarez González condemned to 4 years in prison; the young man with intellectual disabilities Felipe Octavio Correa Martínez to two years in prison for public disorder; and Yandris Pelier Matos was acquitted. Two of these six youths Daniel Alvarez González and Luis Miguel Alarcón Martínez remained detained without trial until July 16th in Guantánamo Provincial Prison, one of the worst prisons in Cuba.
“This event demonstrates the cruelty against Cubans who decide to exercise their right to protest against injustices. The regime continues to be repressive and does not accept criticism, violating the rights of people who dare to publicly dissent. Furthermore, the regime has incarcerated a young man with intellectual disabilities simply because he intervened to defend his brother Luis Miguel from a tremendous beating from the political police. This decision is both violative and unjust”, said Janisset Rivero, Center for a Free Cuba program officer.
Luis Miguel Martínez and Daniel Alvarez González were violently detained on May 6, 2023, during a mass public protest in the municipality of Caimanera, in the Guantánamo province, by special repression troops known as “Avispas Negras” or “Black Wasps”. The young adults were taken to State Security Operations headquarters in the city of Guantánamo and since then have remained permanently incarcerated without trial in the Guantánamo Provincial Prison. Detained along with these young adults were: Yandris Pelier Matos and Felipe Octavio Correa Martínez who were released on June 2, 2023, in addition to Freddy Sarquiz González and Rodolfo Alvarez González, who were released on August 7, 2023. Now, with the exception of Yandris, these youths will spent years in prison for engaging in nonviolent protest.
The Center for a Free Cuba created a petition for the freedom of these young men from Caimanera when they were initially detained. The petition for their freedom remains active: https://chng.it/ZdfXqMDgKT
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